Air India Express to enhance NCR presence, commence ops from Hindon airport 

Tata Group-promoted airline Air India Express plans to enhance its presence in the national capital region by commencing flight operations from Hindon airport on March 1, 2024, sources told businessline.

The airline, sources said, will connect Hindon with Goa, Kolkata, and Bengaluru while also maintaining full-fledged operations at IGI Airport.

“Hindon provides a more affordable option to airlines, especially the budget carriers, with much wider time slots available,” sources said. 

At present, Hindon handles UDAN flights that are operated by Star Air. The Air India Express flights will be operated from the civil enclave operated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Hindon, which is an air force station.

• Also read: After AIX Connect merger, Air India Express sets sights on capacity and market share growth

The move is in line with the airline’s attempts to widen domestic network under its “Deep India Connect” plan.

As of now, Air India Express’ fleet size stands at 94, compared to 26 aircraft during government ownership around two years ago. 

Besides, the number of routes served by the airline has more than doubled, with around 400 flights a day compared to 75-77 daily flights two years ago. 

Under the second phase of its transformation programme, Air India Express aims to have a fleet of over 100 aircraft by the end of the current fiscal year, with more domestic and international routes.

Notably, the airline is guided by a five-year-long transformation programme, V1Rise, which forms a key part of the ambitious Vihaan initiative of its parent company, Air India.

The recent merger with AIX Connect marked the completion of the first phase of V1Rise, known as ‘Synchronisation.’. During this phase, the unified entity unlocked synergies by merging two airlines that previously served niche markets. The former Air India Express was a regional international carrier serving routes between India, the Middle East, and South-east Asia, while AIX Connect served only domestic routes within India.

“The airline aims to have an efficient and deep domestic network during this phase. It will also scale up business and keep costs under control,” sources said.

Air India Express plans to increase flight frequencies to and from tier-II and tier-III cities, aiming to reach 55 stations in FY25 from 45 in FY24. It currently operates from or to over 50 stations. 

Furthermore, the Tata Group-promoted low-cost carrier aims to grow its passenger traffic by over 50% in FY25 versus the previous fiscal year on the back of new routes, a larger fleet size, and operations to new destinations.

Accordingly, the airline plans to ferry 2.4 million passengers per month by the end of FY25 from 1.6 million passengers carried per month by the end of FY24.

To achieve this growth, Air India Express plans to operate over 110 aircraft by the end of the financial year. The airline will be receiving brand new 737s from Boeing and additionally some old Airbus A320s from its parent Air India.

Currently, the airline operates over 400 daily flights, connecting 35 domestic and 14 international airports, with a fleet of 90 aircraft, comprising 61 Boeing 737s and 29 Airbus A320s.